1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, and particularly relates to an imaging apparatus that has an optical viewfinder and an electronic viewfinder and is capable of switching between the viewfinders.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the technical field of digital cameras (imaging apparatuses), until now, generally, an electronic image of a subject acquired by an imaging optical system of an imaging lens, an imaging device, and the like has been displayed on a liquid crystal monitor provided on the rear surface of the camera main body, and composition or an in-focus state is confirmed. However, recently, separately from the liquid crystal monitor of the rear surface, models having a finder for confirming composition or an in-focus state have come into widespread use. Such a finder system has an optical viewfinder (hereinafter referred to as an OVF) and an electronic viewfinder (hereinafter referred to as an EVF), and thus has advantages and disadvantages of the respective viewfinders.
Specifically, compared with the EVF, the OVF has the following certain advantages: “there is no response delay in display”; “a displayed image is sharp”; “it is easy to determine composition since outside of the imaging range is viewed (by the system)”; and so on. On the other hand, compared with the OVF, the EVF has the following advantages in use: “it is possible to display a reproduced image or a menu image (including an image in which both images overlap)”; and so on. Consequently, in a digital camera (imaging apparatus) having both the OVF and the EVF, it is preferable to appropriately switch the OVF and the EVF in accordance with a situation.
As the imaging apparatus configured to switch the finder systems, a technique described in for example JP-2009-303258A has been known. In the technique described in JP-2009-303258A, there is provided a digital single-lens reflex camera capable of switching between the OVF (in which a movable mirror is inserted into an optical path and an optical image of a subject is visible through a finder eye piece) and the EVF (in which the movable mirror is retracted from the optical path and an electronic image of the subject acquired by the imaging device is visible through the liquid crystal monitor). The EVF is capable of a live view mode (a mode for displaying a real time image, which is generated by the imaging device, on a display unit). With such a configuration, it is possible to switch between the OVF and the EVF on the basis of various operations of a user.
Further, as the imaging apparatus configured to automatically switch between the finder systems, for example, a technique described in JP-2004-85935A has been known. In the technique described in JP-2004-85935A, there is provided imaging condition determination means that determines conditions such as a remaining battery capacity, a contrast in an imaged scene, and a subject distance, whereby the OVF and the EVF are automatically switched between on the basis of a result of the determination.